Political bias: a look into the college classroom

Abstract

This study examines the effects of political bias on students‟ willingness to speak out. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann‟s Spiral of Silence theory is used to test this. Convenience sampling is used in order to gain an undergraduate sample of students at a mid-sized Midwestern university. Thirty-Three students participated and were rewarded extra credit for doing so. It was concluded that students do not see political bias as much of an issue to be concerned about. Students also feel that if they choose to speak out, they will have specific reasons for doing so and feel as though the professor has a profound impact on whether or not they will speak out. Students do not mind political leakage occurring as long as the discussion does not monopolize class time and it is relevant to the class material. There were different levels of silencing that occurred with these students. Future research should focus on differences that could affect the silencing of the students